Kittens allegedly used for live baiting in Queensland’s greyhound industry

SHOCKING allegations that kittens were used as live­ bait have been levelled at two Queensland greyhound ­trainers.

19/01/2012 FEATURES: Maine Coon kittens in basket. Generic image. Thinkstock.

SHOCKING allegations that kittens were used as live­ bait have been levelled at two Queensland greyhound ­trainers.

In a dramatic deepening of the live baiting scandal, James Gregory Harding and Steven Boody have been slapped with serious animal cruelty charges.

The men are accused of strapping kittens to lures to “blood” greyhounds between August last year and May this year.

In other developments, police have separately charged a 90-year-old man with serious animal cruelty for live baiting.

The Courier-Mail has been told children allegedly involved in live baiting with their parents could also face charges.

Mr Harding, 26, and Mr Boody, 62, have each been charged with two counts of serious animal cruelty offences and will appear in Ipswich Magistrates Court later this month.

It is understood the practice is alleged to have occurred at disgraced trainer Tom Noble’s unregistered training track at Churchable in the Lockyer Valley.

Police said the joint Queensland Police Service and RSPCA task force continued to investigate allegations of live baiting within the greyhound racing industry.

Harding’s Gold Coast lawyer Chris Hannay last night said: “We deny the charges.”

The police investigation has found evidence of live baiting across multiple generations.

The Courier-Mail has been told police have interviewed a teenage girl suspected to have been involved in live baiting with her father.

Racing Queensland last night said any allegation of animal cruelty was “deplorable” and had no place in greyhound racing.

Police have now arrested 23 people on 65 charges and at least 20 trainers have life bans from the industry.